Method and system for reconciling equity hedge funds

ABSTRACT

A method and system for tracking the compliance of an insurance policy&#39;s portfolio account used to finance benefit obligations containing equity-linked assets distributed among at least one fund category, containing at least one investment vehicle such as equities, bonds, cash, etc. This method monitors the balance of assets included in selected investment vehicles, e.g., equities, bonds, etc. and relates them to new or modified liability allocations. The method identifies a liability balance associated with selected investment vehicles within each of the insurance fund categories, identifies an asset balance associated with the value of equities in the account, and divests a portion of the equity assets when that asset balance exceeds a regulation regarding liability balance. The method further provides an indication for reporting when the asset balance is within the known relation to the liability balance.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application relates to, and claims the benefit of the earlierfiling date, under 35 U.S.C. §119, of U.S. Provisional PatentApplication, Ser. No. 60/266,574 entitled “Equity Hedge Reconciliation,”filed on Feb. 5, 2001, which is incorporated by reference herein.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to methods of tracking investments andmore specifically to determining equity-based investments subject toU.S. Government regulations of financial institutions.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The collapse of the equity markets in 1929 caused the failure of manybanking institutions that invested heavily in the equity markets. Lawsenacted by the U.S. Congress after the equity market collapse preventedbanks from investing in the equity or stock market. The SecurityExchange Commission Act of 1934 and Glass-Stegall Act of 1934, forexample, placed the stock markets and many banking institutions underthe regulatory administration of the Security Exchange Commission, TheOffice of the Comptroller of the Currency, The Office of ThriftSupervision, and the Federal Reserve Bank. The purpose of theseadministrative acts was to prevent banking institutions from investingin equities and preclude a similar failure of banks or financialinstitutions from over-investing in questionable or risky equities.However, a disadvantage of preventing banking financial institutionsfrom investing in equities or stocks is that banking institutions cannottake advantage of significant upswings in the equities markets to meetobligations, such as employee benefit plans. Between 1970 to 2000, manyemployers, including banking institutions, instituted deferredcompensation programs in which employees would agree to voluntarilydefer the receipt of a portion of their compensation. The employer wouldagree to credit an “interest” on this deferred compensation based on anoutside index, such as the prime rate, or a stock market index. Abanking institution then becomes liable to its employees who havepreferred to defer compensation for a future payment based in part on anincrease in a stock index. However, a banking institution is prohibitedfrom owning stocks to hedge its exposure for these future payments.Thus, as the stock market activity during the latter half of the 1990'sprovided significant growth in funds invested in equities, the bankinginstitutions were precluded from participating in this growth and themonies under their control could not accumulate at a similar rate.

To remedy this inequity imposed on the banking institutions, The Officeof the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) altered the limitations of theGlass-Stegall Act to afford national banking institutions a limitedability to invest in stocks or equities to increase the value ofportfolios used to finance certain employee benefit liabilitiescommensurate with the increase in the equity markets. However, the OCCBulletin 2000-23 imposes restrictions and reporting regulations upon thebanking institutions to safeguard against over-investing in stocks orequities beyond those amounts needed to hedge liabilities or obligationsundertaken. In order to meet the reporting regulations, bankinginstitutions must constantly monitor the accounts or account portfoliosthey manage and declare their compliance to OCC regulations on a regularbasis. Banking institutions are subject to significant monetarypenalties for failure to comply with the imposed restrictions andreporting requirements. Similar regulations apply to institutionsregulated by The Office of Thrift Supervision.

Hence, there is a need for a system that monitors and reconciles thevalue of capital, funds, assets, or monies banking institutions haveinvested in equities and their equity linked obligations to insurecompliance with imposed restriction and reporting requirements.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

A method and system for tracking compliance requirements imposed on aportfolio account containing a plurality of assets distributed among atleast one investment fund category, containing at least one investmentvehicle is disclosed. The method identifies a liability balanceassociated with selected ones of the investment vehicles within each ofthe fund categories, identifies an asset balance associated with theaccount and, when necessary, divests a portion of selected investmentvehicles when the asset balance is in violation of a known relation withregard to the liability balance. The method provides an indication whenthe asset balance is within a known relation to the liability balance.In one aspect, the method provides a report of an asset balance, aliability balance and the determined indication.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

In the drawings:

FIG. 1 illustrates a conventional distribution of funds in a managedfund;

FIG. 2 illustrates an exemplary interaction between a participatingparty and a fund manager as viewed by the participating party;

FIG. 3 illustrates the exemplary interaction illustrated in FIG. 2 asviewed by a fund manager;

FIG. 4 illustrates a block diagram of an exemplary process flow inaccordance with the principles of the invention.

FIG. 5 illustrates a flow chart of an exemplary process in accordancewith the principles of the invention;

FIG. 6 illustrates an example for determining compliance in accordancewith the principles of the present invention; and

FIG. 7 illustrates a system operable to execute the exemplary processingillustrated in FIG. 5.

It is to be understood that these drawings are solely for purposes ofillustrating the concepts of the invention and are not intended as adefinition of the limits of the invention. It will be appreciated thatthe same reference numerals, possibly supplemented with referencecharacters where appropriate, have been used throughout to identifycorresponding parts.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

FIG. 1 illustrates one example of a conventional account or portfoliomanagement philosophy 100. In this conventional management philosophy100, deferred compensation funds, assets or monies invested byparticipating parties are allocated between three broad fund categories:short-term 110, mid-term 120 and long-term 130. Short-term 110 fundcategories are those categories that are anticipated by the portfoliomanager to be needed in a relatively short-term, e.g., 1-3 years. Thesefunds, assets or monies are maintained in readily available investmentvehicles, such as cash, stocks, equities or other liquid assets.Mid-term 120 fund categories are those categories in which the portfoliomanager anticipates that the funds, assets or monies contained thereinare to be needed in a slightly longer period, e.g., 4-8 years. Thesefunds, assets or monies are maintained in semi-liquid investmentvehicles, such as equities, short-term municipal or corporate bonds,etc. Long-term 130 fund categories are those categories in which theportfolio manager anticipates the funds, assets or monies containedtherein are not needed for a significantly longer period of time, e.g.,greater than 8 years. In this case, these funds, assets or monies areinvested in long-term investment vehicles, such as corporate bonds,mutual funds, insurance policies, etc.

As would be appreciated, insurance policies provide significantadvantages for portfolio management performance, as proceeds ofinsurance distributions are not taxed and consequently increase the netreturn on an investment. However, investment in insurance policies hasdisadvantages as the assets contained the insurance polices or ininsurance policy funds are not readily available. These assets are onlyavailable after a fixed time period or the demise of the insured party.Secondly, insurance policies or insurance policy funds may also beinvested in stocks or equities. Thus, investment in insurance policiesor insurance policy funds further increases the exposure of long-termassets to value changes and fluctuations and must be accounted for tocomply with government regulations.

FIG. 2 illustrates an exemplary interaction 200 between a participatingparty and a managed portfolio as viewed by the participating party. Inthis exemplary interaction, a participating party defers receiving anobligation owed at block 210. In one case, a party may elect to defer asalary payment or a bonus payment to avoid paying income taxes at acurrent tax rate. The salary or bonus payment funds or monies may thenbe placed in an account in a managed portfolio for payment at a futuredate. A deferred obligation is thus created within the managed portfolioat block 215 that imposes upon the managed portfolio a liability to theparticipating party.

Matching funds, assets or monies may also be provided by the company,employer or banking institution for all or a part of the participatingparty's deferred payment, at block 220. Matching funds, assets or moniesmay be in the form of company stock, equity, bonds, etc. The obligationor liability imposed on the managed portfolio or account to theparticipating party is thus increased to credit the matched funds,assets or monies at block 225. Investment gains (and losses) of thedeferred and matching funds, assets or monies are next reported to theparticipating party at block 230. The increase or decrease in theportfolio's obligation or imposed liability to the participating partyis then determined at block 235 based on the contributions made by theparty and employer and the investment gains or losses.

At a future payout date, a distribution of the accumulated deferred andmatched funds, assets or monies and investment gains and losses, isreceived by the participating party, at block 240. The distribution may,for example, be a single payment or may be distributed over a series ofpayments. In this latter case, the managed portfolio is obligated tomaintain the account balance and provide a structured long-termdistribution to the participating party.

FIG. 3 illustrates an exemplary interaction 300 between a participatingparty and a managed portfolio as viewed by the portfolio manager. Inthis exemplary interaction, a participating party elects to defer anobligation owed at block 210. At block 315, a plan sponsor, such as anemployer, requires the portfolio manager provide an accounting of theaccount including investment benchmarks, i.e., contributions, gains andlosses, in order to determine the value of any matching contributionsthat the employer may provide. At block 320, the participating party'sinvestment benchmarks are recorded. Concurrently, the sponsor'sobligation to the portfolio is determined in response to the benchmarkgains or losses at block 325. At block 330, the participating party mayelect to change the allocation or distribution of current deferred andinvested funds, assets or monies. In response to a change in allocationof deferred funds, assets or monies, the portfolio manager mustreallocate equity assets in the managed fund to avoid violation ofimposed requirements of OCC 2000-23. The portfolio manager may elect tosell selected stocks or equities in order to divest the portfolio of aportion of equities such that the asset/liability relation of theportfolio is returned to a compliant value.

At block 330, a distribution of the accumulated funds, assets or monies,matching funds, assets or monies and investment gains and losses begins.In this illustrated example, evaluation of the value of theparticipating party's account is performed and a payment schedule isdeveloped at block 345. At block 350, distribution payments are receivedby the participating party, and at block 355, accounting of thedistributed payments is maintained. When the invested funds are furtherinvested in an insurance policy, then the portfolio manager mustcontinue to meet payment obligations even though the proceeds of theinsurance policy are not yet available. In such a case, upon the deathof the participating party, at block 360, an accounting and settlementof the participating party's account is performed by the portfoliomanager, at block 365, to include proceeds of the insurance policy.

FIG. 4 illustrates a block diagram of an exemplary process flow 400 ofportfolio management in accordance with the principles of the invention.In this exemplary processing 400, a participating party elects to deferan asset owed, at block 210. At block 410, the deferred asset isallocated among investment vehicles, such as cash, equities, stocksand/or bonds. The party's current investment allocation is thenevaluated to insure compliance with current regulations. If theallocation causes the account to be non-compliant, i.e., not withinpredetermined limits or a known relation, then a record of this is madeand provided to the portfolio manager or plan administrator. Otherwise,the participating party's allocation is recorded with the planadministration or portfolio manager at block 435. At block 440, the planadministrator or portfolio manager reviews the performance and dynamicsof the stock, bond or commodity markets and reallocates assets withinthe portfolio or account accordingly. At block 450, the performance ofthe sponsor's funds, assets or monies is evaluated. At block 460, anindicator is set to indicate that the managed portfolio supporting theparticipating party's account is within a known relation and, hence, incompliance. A compliance report may then be prepared responsive to theindicator. As would be appreciated, the compliance report may bedisplayed on a viewing device, such as a computer monitor, or may berecorded on a printer or entered into an accounting ledger. At block470, an evaluation of the next year's deferral is performed.

FIG. 5 illustrates a flow chart 500 of an exemplary process inaccordance with the principles of the present invention. In thisillustrative process, a participating party's bond and stock allocationof deferred funds, assets or monies is received at block 510. Thecurrent equity/stock allocation, distributed over short-, mid- andlong-term fund categories of the managed portfolio associated with theparticipating party is obtained at block 520. At block 530, adetermination is made whether insurance proceeds are included in themanaged portfolio's allocation. If the answer is in the affirmative,then the value of the equity assets in the insurance process is obtainedat block 540. The value of equity assets allocated among the fundcategories and insurance allocation are then combined to create a singlevalue of equity assets at block 550.

At block 560, a determination is made whether the value of equity assetsis within a known relation with regard to the value of the portfolio'sliability to the participating party. The known relation may be set byregulatory limits or may be self-imposed by the portfolio manager, planadministrator, sponsor, etc., to further limit any risk in marketfluctuation or conform to the regulatory limits. If the answer at block560 is in the affirmative, then the process is completed and anindication of compliance (not shown) is provided to the portfoliomanager, plan administrator, or sponsor. A compliance report (not shown)may then be prepared in response to the indication of compliance. Aswould be appreciated, a report of non-compliance may similarly beprepared when an indication of compliance is lacking.

However, if the answer at block 560 is in the negative, then adivestment of equity shares from the portfolio is necessary. Theportfolio manager may initiate a process of equity divestment from thecurrent account. The process of equity divestment may continue until thevalue of the equity assets is within limits with regard to theportfolio's obligations or imposed liability. In one aspect of theinvention, a portfolio is compliant, or within limits, when the value ofassets or equities is less than the obligations owed or imposedliabilities. In a preferred aspect of the invention, the portfolio is incompliance when the value of equity assets is equal to the value ofobligations owed.

FIG. 6 illustrates an example of summary 600 of a reconciliation processof a managed long-term fund category in accordance with the principlesof the present invention. Although FIG. 6 illustrates the reconciliationof an exemplary long-term fund category, one skilled in the art wouldeasily understand that the principles of the invention may be adapted toreconcile similarly allocated mid-term fund category and short-term fundcategory investments, when such reconciliation is needed or necessary.In this illustrative example, a liability balance of the long-term fundcategory is shown to be $13,450,000.00. Also shown is a negative changein the value of the investment of $2,507,550.00 has occurred during thereporting period. The balance of imposed liability on the fund categoryis next determined as the sum of the current balance and the change ininvestment. In this case, the balance of the imposed liability isrepresented as $10,942,500.00. As would be appreciated, any reportingperiod may be selected as any suitable period such as, a week, a month,a quarter, a year, etc.

The value of assets subject to impose regulation is next determined asthose investment vehicles containing stocks or equities. In thisexample, the value of equities in a mutual fund investment vehicle isshown to be $4,275,070.00. Further, the value of assets held in stocksor equities held in any insurance policies or insurance policy fundsmust be accounted. In this case, the value of stocks in the twoillustrated insurance policies or insurance policy funds, represented asVG01234 and IV 93876, which are shown as $2,000,000.00 and$4,275,000.00, respectively, must be included. Accordingly, theaccumulated value of assets in the exemplary long-term fund categorysubject to imposed regulations is $10,550,070.00.

In this case, the value of the liabilities owed by the long-term fundcategory is greater than the value of the equity asset. Accordingly, thefund is in compliance with the imposed regulation when the imposedregulation requires that the value of liabilities owed be greater thanthe value of assets subject to regulation, i.e., Liability/Asset>=1. Anindication of compliance may then be provided to the portfolio manager,plan administrator or sponsor. Similarly, a report of non-compliance maybe prepared when the indication of compliance is lacking. Although itmay be read as a positive indication of compliance, it would be wellwithin the knowledge of those skilled in the art, and hence contemplatedas being within the scope of the present invention, to provide anegative indication of compliance and a positive indication ofnon-compliance.

In an alternative aspect, also illustrated in FIG. 6, a determination ofcompliance of each investment vehicle contained within the illustratedlong-term fund category in which assets subject to regulation areallocated or distributed can be determined. In this illustrativeexample, the balance of the deferred compensation is shown to beallocated or distributed among investment vehicles collected together ingroups of equities entitled, large capital equities, small capitalequities, international equities and peer group equities. Further, thefunds, assets or monies are allocated or distributed such that asubstantial portion of the deferred compensation is allocated to largecapital equities. Also shown is the distribution of a supplementalretirement fund, which includes funds, assets or monies allocated amongthe same equity groups in approximately the same proportion. Using thepreviously recited exemplary compliance criteria, FIG. 6 thusillustrates that the value of assets within the large capital equitygroup is not in compliance with imposed regulations as the current valueof obligations owed is less than the value of funds, assets or monies inthe same group. On the other hand, the small capital equity group isfound to be in compliance with the aforementioned compliance criteria asthe value of equity assets is less than that of the value of theobligation owed. Thus, in accordance with the principles of this aspectof the invention, selected groups or subgroups of a portfolio may beindividually determined to be within compliance of imposed regulations.As would be appreciated, groups or subgroups of stocks or equities maybe selected over a number of different classes or types. For example,equities may be grouped according to company size, such aslarge-capital, small-capital, mid-capital, etc. Equities may also begrouped by company sector, such as technology sector, medical sector,defense sector, etc. Equities may be further grouped within sectors,such as chips, space, aerospace, etc.

FIG. 7 illustrates an exemplary system 700 for practicing the principlesof the invention. In this exemplary system embodiment, input data isreceived over network 750 and is processed in accordance with one ormore software programs executed by processing system 710. The results ofprocessing system 710 may then be transmitted over network 770 forviewing on display 780 and reporting, for example, on a printer, at 790.

As illustrated, system 700 may receive or transmit data over one or morenetwork connections 750, 770 from a server or servers over, e.g., aglobal computer communications network such as the Internet, Intranet, awide area network (WAN), a metropolitan area network (MAN), a local areanetwork (LAN), a terrestrial broadcast system, a cable network, asatellite network, a wireless network, or a telephone network (POTS), aswell as portions or combinations of these and other types of networks.As will be appreciated, network connections 750 and 770 may also be aninternal network, e.g., ISA bus, microchannel bus, PCI bus, PCMCIA bus,etc., or one or more internal connections of a circuit, circuit card orother devices, as well as portions and combinations of these and othercommunication media or external networks, e.g., the Internet or anIntranet.

More specifically, one or more input/output devices 740 receive datafrom the illustrated database 760 over network 750 and the received datais applied to processing system 710. Processing system 710 comprisesprocessor 720, which is in communication with input/output device 740and memory 730. Input/output devices 740, processor 720 and memory 730may communicate over a communication medium 725. The communicationmedium 725 may represent, for example, an ISA, PCI, PCMCIA bus, acommunication network, one or more internal connections of a circuit,circuit card or other device, as well as portions and combinations ofthese and other communication media. Processor 720 may be representativeof a handheld calculator, special purpose or general purpose processingsystem, desktop computer, laptop computer, palm computer, or personaldigital assistant (PDA) device etc., as well as portions or combinationsof these and other devices that can perform the operations illustratedin FIG. 4. Processor 720 may include code, which when executed, performsthe operations illustrated in FIG. 4. The code may be contained inmemory 730 or read/downloaded from a memory medium such as a CD-ROM orfloppy disk (not shown), which is accessible by processor 720, whenneeded. The operations illustrated in FIG. 4 may be performedsequentially or in parallel using different processors to determinespecific values. Further, the data received by input/output device 740may be immediately accessible by processor 720 or may be stored inmemory 730. As will be appreciated, input/output device 740 may alsoallow for manual input, such as a keyboard or keypad entry or may readdata from magnetic or optical medium.

In other embodiments, hardware circuitry may be used in place of, or incombination with, software instructions to implement the invention. Forexample, the elements illustrated herein may also be implemented asdiscrete hardware elements or may be integrated into a single unit.

While there has been shown, described, and pointed out, fundamentalnovel features of the present invention as applied to preferredembodiments thereof, it will be understood that various omissions andsubstitutions and changes in the apparatus described, in the form anddetails of the devices disclosed, and in their operation, may be made bythose skilled in the art without departing from the spirit of thepresent invention. For example, it is expressly intended that allcombinations of those elements and/or method steps which performsubstantially the same function in substantially the same way to achievethe same results are within the scope of the invention. Substitutions ofelements from one described embodiment to another are also fullyintended and contemplated.

1. A computer method for conforming the value of elements of a portfolioaccount to known relation, said account receiving at least one deferredpayment allocated among at least one fund category, each of said fundcategories containing at least one investment vehicle, said methodcomprising the steps of: receiving by a computer from said account anallocation of liabilities associated with said at least one deferredpayment allocated among at least a selected one of said at least oneinvestment vehicles; identifying by the computer a liability balancecomprising the step of: accumulating values of assets of the selectedones of said investment vehicles among each of said fund categories andsaid received liability allocation associated with the selected ones ofsaid investment vehicles; identifying by the computer a value of equityassets held in said portfolio account exclusive of equity assets held inlife insurance policies; determining by the computer whether one or morelife insurance policies are included in said portfolio account, and, ifone or more life insurance policies are included in said portfolioaccount, determining a value of equity assets in the one or more lifeinsurance policies; combining by the computer the value of the equityassets held in said portfolio account exclusive of equity assets held inlife insurance policies and the value of the equity assets in the one ormore life insurance policies to determine an asset balance associatedwith said portfolio account; divesting a portion of said selected onesof said investment vehicles from the portfolio account when a dollarvalue of said asset balance exceeds a known relation imposed by bankingregulation with regard to a dollar value of said liability balance untilthe dollar value of the portfolio account is within limits with regardto the known relation to the dollar value of said liability balance; andproviding by the computer an indication when the value of elements ofthe portfolio account conform to said known relation.
 2. The method asrecited in claim 1 wherein the step of identifying by the computer saidasset balance comprises the steps of: accumulating by the computerbalances of selected ones of said investments vehicles within said hindcategories; and adding by the computer corresponding investment gainsand/or losses to said accumulated balances.
 3. The method as recited inclaim 1 wherein the step of identifying by the computer said assetbalance further comprises step of: accumulating by the computer balancesof selected ones of said investment vehicles within said investmentvehicles; and adding by the computer corresponding investment gainsand/or losses to said accumulated balances.
 4. The method as recited inclaim 1 wherein said investment vehicles are selected from the groupcomprising: cash, equities, stocks, bonds, mortgages, mutual funds,municipal bonds, corporate bonds, and insurance policies.
 5. The methodas recited in claim 1 wherein said selected ones of said investmentvehicle are selected from the group comprising: stocks and equities. 6.The method as recited in claim 1 further comprising the step of:reporting by the computer said identified liability balance, saididentified asset balance and said indication.
 7. The method as recitedin claim 6 further comprising the step of: reporting by the computer: aliability balance associated with each of said investment vehicles; anasset balance associated with each of said investment vehicles; and anindication for each of said liability balances associated with saidinvestment vehicles when said each of said asset balance is within aknown relation to a corresponding one of said liability balance.
 8. Themethod as recited in claim 1 wherein said indication is provided whensaid liability balance exceeds said asset balance.
 9. The method asrecited in claim 1 wherein said known relation is an equality of saidliability balance and said asset balance.
 10. The method as recited inclaim 7 wherein said indication is provided when said liability balanceexceeds a corresponding asset balance.
 11. The method as recited inclaim 7 wherein said known relation is an equality of said liabilitybalance and said asset balance.
 12. The method as recited in claim 7wherein said investment vehicles are sorted within predetermined groups.13. The method as recited in claim 12 wherein said predetermined groupsare selected from the group comprising: large capital, mid-size,small-capital, technology sector, medical sector.
 14. A computer systemfor conforming certain elements of a portfolio account to known relationimposed by banking regulation, said account containing or intended tofinance a plurality of deferred payment allocated among at least onefund category, each of said fund categories containing at least oneinvestment vehicle, said system comprising: a processor in communicationwith a memory, said processor operable for executing instructions storedon a computer-readable medium, the instructions, when executed by theprocessor, causing the processor to: receive an allocation ofliabilities associated with said deferred payment allocated among atleast a selected one of said at least one investment vehicles; identifya liability balance investment comprising accumulating balances of theselected ones of said investment vehicles among each of said fundcategories and said received liability allocation associated with theselected ones of said investment vehicles; identify a value of equityassets held in said portfolio account exclusive of equity assets held inlife insurance policies; determine whether one or more life insurancepolicies are included in said portfolio account, and, if one or morelife insurance policies are included in said portfolio account,determine a value of equity assets in the one or more life insurancepolicies; combine the value of the equity assets held in said portfolioaccount exclusive of equity assets held in life insurance policies andthe value of the equity assets in the one or more life insurancepolicies to determine an asset balance associated with said portfolioaccount; divest a most recently added portion of said selected ones ofsaid investment vehicles from the portfolio account when a dollar valueof said asset balance exceeds the known relation imposed by bankingregulation with regard to a dollar value of said liability balance untilthe value of the portfolio account is within limits with regard to theknown relation to said liability balance; and provide an indication whenthe value of elements of the portfolio account conform to said knownrelation.
 15. The system as recited in claim 14 wherein causing theprocessor to identify said liability balance comprises causing theprocessor to accumulate balances of selected ones of said investmentvehicles among each of said fund categories and said received assetallocation associated with selected ones of said investment vehicles.16. The system as recited in claim 14 wherein causing the processor toidentify said asset balance comprises causing the processor toaccumulate balances of said fund categories.
 17. The system as recitedin claim 15 wherein causing the processor to identify said liabilitybalance further comprises causing the processor to accumulate balancesof selected one of said investment vehicles within said investmentvehicles.
 18. The system as recited in claim 14 wherein said investmentvehicles are selected from the group comprising: cash, equities, stocks,bonds, mortgages, mutual funds, municipal bonds, corporate bonds,insurance policies.
 19. The system as recited in claim 14 wherein saidselected ones of said investment vehicle are selected from the groupcomprising: stocks, equities.
 20. The system as recited in claim 14wherein the instructions, when executed by said processor, further causesaid processor to execute: reporting: said identified liability balance;said identified asset balance; and said indication of compliance. 21.The system as recited in claim 20 wherein the instructions, whenexecuted by said processor, further cause said processor to execute:reporting: a liability balance associated with each of said investmentvehicles; an asset balance associated with each of said investmentvehicles; and an indication of compliance when said each of said assetbalance is within a known relation to a corresponding one of saidliability balance.
 22. The system as recited in claim 14 wherein saidindication is indicated when said liability balance exceeds said assetbalance.
 23. The system as recited in claim 14 wherein said knownrelation is an equality of said liability balance and said assetbalance.
 24. The system as recited in claim 21 wherein said indicationis indicated when said liability balance exceeds said asset balance. 25.The system as recited in claim 21 wherein said known relation is anequality of said liability balance and said asset balance.
 26. Thesystem as recited in claim 14 wherein said investment vehicles aresorted within predetermined groups.
 27. The system as recited in claim26 wherein said predetermined groups are selected from the groupcomprising: large capital, mid-size, small capital, technology sector,medical sector.